SOKOTO, Nigeria - One of three gunmen suspected of shooting a Nigerian Muslim cleric was beaten to death Thursday as fighting broke out between Sunnis and Shiites.

Mallam Umaru Dan-Maishoye was shot late Wednesday as he rode his motorbike home from his mosque in Sokoto, in northern Nigeria, the Nigerian Tribune reported.

A police spokesman told the BBC two suspects were being held.

The national government deployed additional police officers and soldiers to Sokoto. The Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammadu Sa'ad Abubakar, urged Muslims to refrain from violence and let the authorities investigate Dan-Maishoye's killing.